Vauxhall High Host Open Day

JIS: The Industrial Arts Department of Vauxhall High School on Friday (March 24) hosted an Open Day to showcase the skills of secondary students preparing for careers in technical and vocational fields.

The institution was supported by students from Kemps Hall, Dunoon and Donald Quarrie Technical High Schools, who also mounted displays, some of which were a part of students’ School Based Assessment (SBA) projects for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination.

The displays included a hydraulic press, a circuit board featuring a motion sensor, and furniture including hassock, ironing boards, bedside lamps and step ladders.

Speaking with JIS News, Acting Principal of the institution, Prudence Brown Pinnock, was pleased with the event’s staging and expressed confidence that the Industrial Arts will receive rightful recognition and place in modern Jamaica.

“I think it’s a great event… and I think that more and more the industrial arts are getting the prominence they deserve and I think the display today supports that – that industrial arts has a place in the centre of students’ education,” the educator said.

The Acting Principal, who used to supervise industrial arts department and maintains a keen interest in the area, noted that the presentations were good and well received by students.

“It augers well for where we will go as a school in promoting the industrial arts and getting our students certified and competent in these areas,” she stated.

Chairman of the Board, attorney Christopher Honeywell, said the event signified the commitment that the board and staff, and that the school has a valid and comprehensive offering in the industrial arts.

“It underpins the management and staff’s commitment to developing this area of the school’s curriculum in recognition of the fact that as we grow as a school and as a nation, industrial arts and the ability to do things is going to be critical in transitioning Jamaica from a nation that simply talks and hopes, to a nation that achieves.” Mr. Honeywell said.

Head, Industrial Arts Department, Gavin Derizzio, said the overall aim is for all students who graduate from Vauxhall High School in the technical and vocational departments, to be certified and competent to enter the world of work or higher education and be ready to take on the challenges of today’s society.

Outlining the schools success in the area, Mr. Derizzio noted that passes by students in all the technical subjects at the CSEC level have been good.

He informed that students who sit the examination in Construction register no less than 90 per cent passes, and Mechanical Technology students score within the seventy to eighty per cent pass rate.

Automotive Technology is not offered at the CSEC level, so students sit the NCT-vet level 1 certification in motor vehicle engine repairs.

“Most students who sit CSEC here at Vauxhall in the different disciplines are usually successful. They normally transition to Rockfort vocational training centre, some proceed to find employment and some move on to universities such as University of Technology. We want to work on getting the students to proceed to institutions where they can obtain at least a first degree in their disciplines,” Mr. Derizzio noted.

For fifth form student, Brandon Bennett, who participated in the making of a two point control switch, the Open Day is an opportunity to show that young people are competent and can be good examples for others to emulate. He pointed out that inner-city youths frequently are seen as the perpetrators of crime.

“Having an opportunity to do this (Open Day) is showing the world that we are not here to slack off or (be in) bad company. Instead of us being out there trying to change the world in a negative way, we are here trying to show the younger students what we know and if they want to know more, we are here to help them out,” the student said.

CAPTION: Brandon Bennett, student of Vauxhall Technical High School (centre), explains how the circuit which he helped to build works. The device was on display at Open Day held at the institution on Friday March 24.